His epilepsy naturally created an opportunity for, and need of a
doctrine of ecstasy; which for normal people should be no more than
a doctrine, or at least be limited to conscious experiences. Even
his admirer, Porphyry, acknowledges that he spelled and pronounced
incorrectly.[750] He acknowledged that without Porphyry's objections he
would have nothing to say. He refrained from quoting his authorities,
and Porphyry acknowledged that his writings contained many Stoic
and Aristotelian doctrines. It was generally bruited around that his
doctrines were borrowed from Numenius,[751] to the extent that his
disciples held controversies, and wrote books on the subject. His style
is enigmatic, and the difficulty of understanding him was discussed
even in his own day. He was dependent on secretaries or editors; first
on Amelius, later on Porphyry, who does not scruple to acknowledge
he added many explanations.[752] Later, Plotinos sent his books to
Porphyry in Sicily to edit. No doubt the defectiveness of his eyesight
made both reading and writing difficult, and explains his failure
to put titles to his works; though, as in the case of Virgil, such
hesitation may have been the result of a secret consciousness of his
indebtedness to others.